Author: Marisue Cody

The Hiking Club Ramblers had its first geocaching trip. Geocaching is a real-world treasure hunt that’s happening right now, all around you. There are 2,478,102 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide. While geocaching you hunt for hidden caches that can vary greatly in size and appearance. You may find anything from a large, clear plastic container or a film canister or a fake rock with a secret compartment.

John Trudeau led a hike on Saturday, October 11th  up Black Mountain starting at Hidden Villa in Los Altos. It was about an 8-mile hike with about an 1,100 ft elevation gain. We took the Adobe Creek trail from Hidden Villa (1.0 mi) to intersect the Black Mountain trail, then took that to the first power pylon (1.6 mi). We returned to Hidden Villa via the Hostel trail (1.5 mi). The trail features some very nice woodlands and some of the best views of Silicon Valley of any trail in the Skyline Ridge area. The trail was mostly wooded, with no traffic noise and few trail intersections.

Gary and Terry Holmquist led a hike to Sierra Vista Open Space in San Jose. The hike  started from the newly opened parking lot/trail head on Sierra Road. We walked approximately 3-1/4 miles on mostly level trails. Most participants participated with an optional lunch at Lee’s Sandwiches on Berryessa Road.

On Saturday,October 4th all levels of Hikers and Walkers assembled at Jane Ruona’s  Seascape condo for a day of fun and viewing on our beach walk. Cameras and binoculars helped reveal shorebirds, dolphins, and whales. We saw many dolphins only a few yards out swimming parallel to the shore and through the incoming waves.

On Wednesday, October 1st John Trudeau led a hike at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. We started at the southern end of the Park and explored the park as we walked to the Vasona Dam.Then we followed the creek trail north to Los Gatos Creek County Park in Campbell. We then returned to Vasona Park and continued on a short way into Los Gatos and enjoyed lunch at T-Bird’s Pizza. We saw several birds and flowers along the way.

Canada Geese

Two Egrets

Liz Giarratana led a Santa Cruz History Hike on Wednesday, September 24th. We explored Santa Cruz on a 3 mile walk through some of the history of that iconic coastal town. We parked in the downtown area and saw the sights on Pacific Ave and their pedestrian mall. Then there was a 20 minute walk to the beach area where we had lunch. Afterward we explored a historic neighborhood above the beach called Beach Hill. The trolley then took us back to downtown Santa Cruz.

Sandra Walker,John Walker,Eve Gebhardt, Tony Orlando,Nancy Rumple,Jim Beyer, Amy Meier,Faye Swanson,Akiko Giordono, Ruth Lee,Jackie Jones,Karan Foss, Brad Hinckley,Jane Ruona,Radhika Rajpal,Gisela Pearson,Subhash Bal Photographer:John Trudeau

Nancy Rumple led eighteen hikers to Mt. Madonna County Park on Saturday, September 20th . We hiked on shady trails that were new to some and visited several Giant Redwoods that were in the park on a 8.25 mile loop with moderate elevation gain. The day proved to be pleasant and cool.

Jim Beyer and Susan Brown led a self guided walking tour of the Stanford University campus on Wednesday,September 10th. It included visiting the Hoover tower and museum, the memorial church, Tresidder student union, and the Cantor Art Center. We ate lunch at the Tresidder student
 union food court.

Katy Peretti,Susan Brown,Cookie Hunley, Wendy Ledamun,Debbie Siedband,Charmon Ashby, Marion Horton,Jim Beyer,Faye Swanson, Rich Bainbridge,Jackie Jones,Tony Orlando

Richard Bainbridge led a hike on the pedestrian portion of the new section of the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge on Saturday, September 8th. It was a total hike of 8 miles. The trail from the parking lot to the bridge was flat and about 2 miles and from the start of the bridge to the temporary end point another 2 miles with a easy 2% grade. There were a number of benches on the bridge where we stopped to rest before going farther. The day was cool and pleasant with a light breeze. We observed a ship being unloaded by large cranes and several interesting boats and ships within the bay. We ate lunch at a restaurant within  Jack London Square after the hike.

Charmon Ashby,Rich Bainbridge,Debbie Siedband, Jim Beyer,Tony Orlando,Katy Peretti, Faye Swanson,Jackie Jones,Cookie Hunley

Jack London

Bicycles mounted on a pole in Jack London square